Rebel Clown Summer School, 24 July to 3 August 2026, Lucerne, Switzerland
Together with Hilary Ramsden and Robyn Hambrook, co-founders of the Nomadic Rebel Clown Academy and CIRCA, we will deepen the practice of political clowning through collective research and experimentation.
The Rebel Clown Summer School brings together clowning, bouffon, street performance and political action. Working from the inside out, we move from personal experience and embodied research towards collective creation and public intervention: We will perform on the first of August, during the celebrations of Switzerland’s National Day. Building on Rebel Clowning methodologies, we engage with questions of democracy and nationalism and explore how aesthetic practice can become concrete political action. The process aims to go beyond spectacle, developing poetic, effective and resistant forms of creative engagement with the political realities of our time.
Key Elements of the Training
- Clowning basics and further development of skills
- Rebel Clown Training Methodologies
- Bouffon training and character work
- Structured improvisation sessions
- Choreographies of protest and collective devising
- Politics of public space
- Clown and Bouffon make-up experimentations and philosophies
- Open space practice-sharing sessions
- Reflection, digestion, and integration of learning
- Creation and public presentation of actions on 1 August, during Switzerland’s National Day
The training will build on and enhance the skills listed above and work specifically to create and refine a series of actions, interventions and performances that participants and their groups can take into their communities and beyond. The aim of the advanced training is also to provide more time and space to work on specific themes of choice – such as democracy, nationalism, consensus, authority – through improvisation, exercises and games designed to bring forth and develop images, text, sound and movement within an ensemble setting. These can then be woven together into dynamic and flexible interventions to be shown/performed in public spaces.
This is an advanced workshop for participants who have prior experience in Rebel Clowning or related practices and want to take their skills further, develop complex interventions, and engage in collaborative public performance.
For a more open opportunity for everyone, see our Rebel Clown Labor in May, a one-week training exploring the fundamentals of political clowning, ensemble work, and collective public performance. Both projects share a focus on democracy and nationalism, creativity, and playful engagement with power.
This workshop is a collaboration between Clownlabor Schweiz, Theatre of the Oppressed Vienna, tYhle and Bristol Clown School
Important Information
- Language: English
- Participation: Max. of 20 participants
- Costs: donation based (recommendation 150€, 0€ is also fine) for participants aged 18–30
older? mention it in your application, we will try to find a solution - We are aware that artistic and activist training spaces are not equally accessible to everyone. We especially encourage people who are less represented or face structural
barriers in artistic or activist training spaces to apply. If you have
specific needs, questions or concerns regarding participation, please contact us. - The accommodation is wheelchair accessible.
- Travel costs: Reimbursed for travel from AUT, CH, UK, NL, DE, CZ
- Daily life: Collective cooking and housekeeping; vegan food only
- Accommodation: Shared bedrooms (2×16-bed rooms)
- Insurance: Must be arranged by participants
Open Call and Application
Send us your application (clownlab@proton.me) until 01.03.2026 in the form of your choice (short text/audio/video/…) answering the following questions:
- What is your connection to political clowning?
- Are you applying with others from the same (activist) clown
group? - What do you want to learn or research, what inspires you?
- What conditions, resources or changes would support you
in participating or in engaging politically through art in the
way you wish to?
